Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci
2. Improving business portfolio management of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Business Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci
Strengths of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci are -
Training and development
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has one of the best training and development program in Services industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Digital Transformation in Business Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Learning organization
- Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Business Services industry
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Business Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci in Business Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is one of the most innovative firm in Business Services sector.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Business Services
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is one of the leading players in the Business Services industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Business Services industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Business Services industry. The technology infrastructure of China is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Diverse revenue streams
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is present in almost all the verticals within the Business Services industry. This has provided Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
High brand equity
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci are -
Skills based hiring in Business Services industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Business Services industry, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has high operating costs in the Business Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is just above the Business Services industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Business Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has some of the most successful models in the Business Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ less understanding of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Business Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the Business Services industry.
High dependence on Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Business Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can develop new processes and procedures in Business Services industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can utilize new technology in the field of Business Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Business Services industry. This can help Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to build a more holistic ecosystem for Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci products in the Business Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Business Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Business Services sector.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Business Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Threats Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci are -
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Business Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Business Services industry.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci in the Business Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Business Services sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci in Business Services industry. The Business Services industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Business Services industry and other sectors.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci prominent markets.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Regulatory challenges
– Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Business Services industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Suzhou Electrical Apparatus Sci needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
